Pictures Of You
by Rennergirl11
Summary: After Natasha and Clint get in a fight, she goes to Steve to talk. What she finds isn't what she expected. 'Remembering you standing quiet in the rain As I ran to your heart to be near And we kissed as the sky fell and holding you close How I always held close in your fear.'
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Had to get rid of the StevexNatasha feels i got after The Nanny Diaries.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything

Steve sighed flipping through the sketch book that he had gotten for Christmas while sitting on his bed.  
Natasha leaned against his door frame and knocked.  
Steve jumped slamming his notebook shut and shoving it under his pillow. He looked up beating himself for leaving the door open and  
tried to smile through a blush.  
"Hey Captain." She said in a voice he had never heard her use before.  
"Ma'am." He nodded at her.  
"May I come in?" She asked, a small smile playing on her lips.  
"Of course." He nodded.  
"Do you want me to shut th-"  
He nodded before she could even finish the sentence.  
"Okay." She said, closing the door behind her.  
"You need help with anything ma'am?" He asked.  
"Not really." She sat at the edge of his bed. "No-one's really talking to me, so I thought I might give talking to you a shot."  
"Why isn't anyone talking to you?" He asked.  
"I may or may not have managed to piss off every single one of them off." She said. "Clint hadn't spoken to me since last Friday night."  
He looked at her and thought "What day is it?" That was right. It was Saturday. "That was over a week ago. Why?"  
"I don't know." She ran her hand through her red hair aggressively. "I said something wrong, and now he won't talk to me."  
"It's scaring you ma'am?" Steve asked.  
She shrugged, avoiding his eye contact.  
"But nothing scares you, right?" He asked.  
She shrugged again.  
"Can I show you something?" He asked.  
She nodded, looking up at him, her green eyes twinkling with wonder.  
"Come here." He patted the spot next to him.  
She crawled up next to him and sat, looking up at him like a child.  
"I'm gonna tell you something. But you can never tell anyone else, okay?" He looked down at her.  
She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself.  
"Okay. When I was growing up, the best thing you could do was be in the war. You know, save lives, make a difference in the hell." Steve said. "And I mean, I was itty bitty. Always getting beat up. You know, not good enough for anything. Dr. Erskine, he changed it. Him and Stark's dad."  
She looked up at him, eyebrow raised.  
"And the thing that was special about me according to them was the fact that I had heart, I guess." Steve said. "Had a reason to fight. I wanted to protect others and not just fight to get blood on my hands. And I promised myself that I'd never let it get to my head."  
"And?" She asked quietly.  
"And, it got to my head. I thought I was invincible. I swore I was. I thought that because I was the first superhero, nothing could get to me. I was dead wrong." He shook his head. "The one thing that could always get to me was Peggy. She just, she was a free spirit. One that didn't give a shit if you liked her or not. She had a heart. And she knew me before I was this and she saw potential."  
Natasha stuck her hand under the pillow and dug the sketchbook out.  
She flipped it opened. "Is this her?" She asked, running her hand down the length of the paper.  
He nodded, looking at it.  
"She's beautiful." She said quietly. "It's almost life-like."  
"I know." Steve said. "That's why I like drawing. It plays with your emotions."  
She smiled lightly, flipping to the next page. "You know, Clint was in the Army?"  
"He was?" Steve asked.  
"I know, hard to believe." She shrugged. "But he was." Steve said, causing her to nod.  
"He was married." Natasha said quietly, looking at a drawing of a bird. "To this girl. Her name was Barbara, but she went by Bobbi. She was his whole life."  
"What happened?" Steve asked.  
"I don't even know. But they're not married anymore." Natasha said. "But I saw pictures of them. And they were so happy. They were more than two partners. They were a couple."  
"What were the pictures?" Steve lightly took the book out of her hand.  
"Just, like they were normal everyday people." She said quietly. "You know, dates and parties. And anniversaries."  
"I want you to look at this." Steve handed her back the sketchbook.  
"What is it?" She asked.  
"I don't know." Steve shrugged. "Part of the time what I draw I don't mean to. It's a subconcious act of sorts." He pointed to the picture.  
"I think about me and Peggy and I draw Clint and you." he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's weird."  
She giggled and it had been the first time he had heard something that melodic.  
"What are they doing?" She pointed to the picture.  
"I think they're stuck in vents." Steve said. "I sometimes wake up in the middle of nights because ideas hit me. And that was one of them."  
"I'm sorry." She muttered flipping to the next page.  
"What are you sorry about?" He asked.  
"That may or may not have been one of the nights me and Clint were crawling through the vents trying to get to the lab." She said.  
"Why?" He asked.  
She opened her mouth but he raised his hand to silence her.  
"I don't even want to know." He said, shaking his head.  
She giggled again, causing him to smile. He had never seen her so carefree. So normal. So different. The darkness that usually swirled in her eyes, the want to be by herself, weren't there. It was replaced with a small brightness, and it was filled with excitemet and wonder.  
"What's this?" She asked, turning the sketch book in her hand.  
"Oh." He blushed slightly.  
"It's really good Steve." She said, smiling at it.  
He shrugged, not answering her at all. "So..." He said quietly.  
She looked at the picture. She was amazed at the likeness in the image. It showed two women, one in an Army uniform, and one in a catsuit. She was guessing it was her and Peggy. They both had a look on their face that meant business, but she could see the softness in their eyes. "What was she like exactly?" She ran her hand over Peggy's face.  
"She was you know, fierce. She didn't take shit from people. But she was still a human, and she still could hate you for crossing her." He shrugged. "She had this thing about dancing. That was supposed to be our first date. Dancing at The Stork Club at eight o'clock the next Saturday. I said we needed a slow song. And I couldn't dare be late." She smiled. "I've been there. It's not as fancy as it used to be. But it's nice."  
"Yeah, I've heard." Steve said, causing her to laugh. "What is so funny?"  
She shrugged. "I just haven't laughed since Friday Night. I think I'm getting the giggles that have been stuck inside of me out." She flipped to the next page and busted out laughing again. "This picture is amazing." She pointed to it.  
"Oh, yeah that one." He blushed.  
"The weird thing is, I can totally see you guys as strippers." Natasha said. "Tony and Clint would come up with the idea. Thor wouldn't understand it so they'd just bribe him with poptarts. I don't really understand how they could have convinced you and Bruce to join them but they obviously did." She shrugged. "I would totally go to that strip club."  
He blushed, growing bright red.  
"Do they have names?" She asked.  
"What?" He looked down at her.  
"You know, strippers have to have a dang stripper name." She said. "Like Magic Mike."  
"Who?" He asked.  
"Dear lord." She snorted. "Wait, you didn't watch it with us. That was  
our last movie night. No-one got up to leave cause they all wanted to see what the Pony Dance was."  
"The what?" He asked.  
"Whatever. I need the pencil." She said, sticking out her small hand.  
He stared at her hardcore.  
"I'm not changing the damn picture!" She groaned. "I'm just adding the stripper names."  
"Fine." He grabbed a pencil out of the drawer and handed it to her.  
"Good." She said before she started to write on the paper. "You're gonna love this Steve."  
"I highly doubt that." He said before she handed him back the pencil.  
"You ready for this?" She asked, squeezing the sketch book against her chest.  
"It amazes me you did that so fast." He answered.  
"I've been thinking about what your stripper names since Magic Mike." She said. "Don't judge me."  
"Let me see it." He said, shaking his head.  
She flipped the book and pointed at the picture of him. "The Captain." Next was Tony. "Man Of Steel." Then it was Bruce. "The Big One."  
That one made him bust out laughing. "Where do you co-"  
"Shush." She pointed to Thor. "Poptart." The last one was of Clint. "The Arrow."  
"What's so bad about that one?" He asked.  
"You weren't with us when we established this?" She gasped dramatically. "How dare you!"  
"What does it mean?" He asked.  
"So Stark said that me and Clint were way too alike. And he said it made sense. Because I was a bow, and he was an arrow." She looked up at him. "And I asked him what that meant cause Clint got all flustered by it." She slowed her words down. "And he said that the bow is the place the arrow is put." She nodded slowly, making sure he understood it.  
"I am never going to think about bow and arrows the same way again." He said causing her to laugh.  
She flipped the page and she grew quiet.  
"What's wrong?" He asked, looking down at her.  
"Is this me?" She asked, staring down at the paper in a small childlike voice.  
"I guess it is." He said. "I don't really know."  
"Do I look that much like her?" She asked.  
"Yeah." He nodded. "You do."  
"Were we alike?" She asked.  
"Yeah. Fierce, not giving a shit, free spirit. Have heart, not matter how much you like to disagree with that one." He said.  
"What else?" She asked quietly.  
"You're both very beautiful." He said, which caused her to blush. "And you both always proved yourself worthy of your positions. And you are always the only girl with the guys, just like she was." He shrugged. "We always thought she had a thing for Stark."  
"You think I had a thing for Stark?" Natasha asked, eyes wide. "Jerk."  
She smacked him with the sketchbook.  
"Well, we all kinda did to be truthful. We heard about your past with him." He said. "But then Clint came into the picture and all of our minds changed to think you two had a thing."  
"So. I'm kinda like her?" Natasha asked.  
"More like just like her." Steve said. "That may be the reason I'm so damn protective of you on the field."  
"Everyone is." Natasha groaned. "You think I'm beautiful?"  
"We all do." Steve said. "It's hard not to think that."  
"Really?" She asked quietly.  
He nodded. "When I first met you, i thought of the first time I met Peggy."  
She smiled and looked down at the paper. She flipped to the next page. "These drawings are really good Steve." She said quietly, eyeing a certain one on the corner of the page.  
"Thanks." He said. "I try." He shrugged, causing her to laugh.  
"What's this one from?" She asked, pointing to the page.  
"You two were arguring about God knows what." He said. "And you started a cooking challenge. And you forced Tony to be the judge. And your muffins nearly killed him."  
"Highly doubtful." She rolled her eyes. She flipped the page. She froze as she looked at the picture, taking in every detail.  
"You guys are so graceful when you're sparring." Steve said. "I couldn't really help it."  
"Well, that's what you get for ballet and being in a circus." She muttered under her breath. She flipped the page. "I like this one most."  
He looked down at the picture.  
It was of her, walking down the hall. She had a blanket trailing behind her and one hand was rubbing at her eye. She was in a shirt that was way too big for her that went down to her knees.  
"You seem to do that alot." He said.  
She nodded looking down at herself. She was in the exact same shirt as she was in the picture, bu this time had sweatpants on under it.  
She flipped to the last page that had a drawing on it and smiled.  
"This is good." She nodded. "This is really good."  
"Thanks." He said.  
"Is this all of us?" She asked.  
"Yeah. At the Pepper imagined wedding she had me draw." He said.  
She laughed, causing him to smile.  
Natasha was in the middle of the five boys. Since she was all five of their worlds.  
Beside Natasha was Clint and Steve and beside Tony was Bruce and Thor was next to Bruce.  
She sat the sketchbook down and looked at him. "I wanna do something for you Captain."  
"What?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed.  
"I mean, I know I'm no Peggy. I mean obviously." She pointed at her outfit. "And also because you know, she British and I'm Russian, but.." She looked down at the sketchbook which was flipped to a picture of two people dancing. "But I'm close enough, right? I could, nevermind. It's stupid."  
"Ms. Romanoff." Steve looked down at her.  
"I would be amazingly happy if I could have this dance." She looked up at him. "I know I'm not Peggy. And I'll never be like her either, but at-"  
He put his finger on her. "Shh." He said, removing it. "I would be honored to go dancing with you."  
"Good." She said before pulling out her phone and starting a song.  
"You're late Mr. Rogers." She said in a real British accent.  
"What are you talking about?" Steve asked.  
"It's 8:02. You're late." She smirked at him.  
"May I have this dance?" He asked.  
"I would be honored." She said. The way she said it reminded him of Peggy. It sounded just like her.  
"Good." He said, before he placed his hands on her hips, and she tangled her arms around his neck. "And we just sway?"  
She nodded, putting her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

_**They're writing songs of love- but not for me. A lucky star's above- but not for me. With love to lead the way I've found more clouds of gray than any Russian play -can gurantee. I was a fool to fall- and get this way. Ah ho alas and awe- so lackaday. Although I can't dismiss the memory of her kiss. I guess she's not- not for me.**_

"I know this song." Steve said.  
She nodded. "I picked it for that reason." She said in her normal voice, no accent.  
"Hmm." He let go of her and grabbed her hand and started twirling her.  
"Getting fancy, are we Rogers?" She asked in the accent again.  
"You got me." He shrugged, dipping down slightly.

_**It all began so well- but what an end. This is the time- a fellow needs a friend. When every happy plot ends with a marriage knot. And there's no knot, no (k)not for me.**_

He dipped her down and they stayed in that position.  
She smiled at him.  
He couldn't help himself. He leant down and kissed her on the lips. When he realized he had done that he lost his grip on her and dropped her to the floor. "I'm so sorry!" He said, covering his face with his hands.  
Natasha stood up and walked out of the room, not even casting a second look over her shoulder.

A/N: Read & Review


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So, I decided to keep this going thanks to LilyM.85 and 4sv4me, my faithful reviewers. Thank you guys for your support. (:

Disclaimer: Own nothing. Nada. Kaput. - Don't really know what that means. I just think it's a funny word.

"Will that be all Mr. Stark?" She asked, sliding the folders into her arms off of his desk.

"Actually, I need you to do one last thing for me Little Red." Tony said, searching through his drawers for something. "Can you bring in the Captain for me?"

She took a small intake of breath and glared at him. "Mr. Rogers?" She asked.

"Yes. Mr. Rogers." Tony said. "I need to speak to him."

"Can't you just get JARVIS to do it?" She asked quietly.

"I could, but it'd just be easier if you'd do it for me." Tony said.

She let out a small sigh and nodded. "Of course Mr. Stark. I'll be right back." She said, walking out the door, placing the folders back into a filing cabinet.

She walked slowly to the elevator, not really wanting to find him. They had been avoiding each other like they were the plague. If she walked into a room, he would excuse himself and vice versa.

She walked into the small elevator and clicked the gym button, standing in the corner. She hated elevators. They moved too fast in one direction for her. She like different escape routes. Not this.

Her heels clicked down the empty corridor, her body trembling slightly as she neared the gym doors. This was ridiculous. She was a damn assassin for God's sake; a single kiss shouldn't have thrown her off as much as it had.

She hadn't stopped thinking about it since it happened. The way his arms held onto her so sternly but softly. The way his muscles rippled as they danced. The way his baby blues shown as he told her that he thought she was beautiful. The way his lips felt against hers.

She shook her head as she pushed open the door to the gym and froze. Steve was standing towards the back, beating on punching bags, an opponent who couldn't hit back. She cleared her voice and he turned to look at her.

"Ma'am." He said, nodding at her.

"Mr. Rogers." She said quietly. "Mr. Stark is requesting your presence in his office."

Steve nodded and started to unwrap his fingers.

She stood awkwardly, waiting for him to finish, trying her hardest not to look over at him.

He finally finished and walked over to her, wiping sweat from his forehead. "If you'll follow me." She said quietly, pushing past the gym doors.

He followed after her to the elevator. They both stood in awkward silence as the elevator took them down to one of the lower floors, where Tony's office was.

"It's right over here." Natasha said quietly as they got off the elevator and turned down the hall. She knocked on a door and opened it slowly. "Mr. Stark."

"Thank you." Tony said as Steve walked into the room.

"No problem sir." She said, closing the door, leaving her out in the small front of the office. She sat down at her desk and started fiddling with a pen.

Pepper came in and sat in a chair in the small waiting room, humming slightly.

"It'll be just a few moments Ms. Potts." Natasha said. "He's having a meeting with Mr. Rogers."

"No problem Natasha." Pepper said, flipping through a magazine. "Speaking of Mr. Rogers." She put the magazine down and walked over to Natasha's desk. "What is going on between you two?"

"What?" She asked quietly, looking up at the blond.

"You two are acting so strange. What is going on?" Pepper asked.

Natasha sat there dumbfounded, her mouth dry. For the first time in a long time, she had nothing to say.

"Are you two together or something?" Pepper asked.

"Whoa. Ms. Potts, we're not dating or anything." Steve's voice sounded behind Natasha.

She turned to look at him, and saw the concerned look in his blue eyes. She shook her head and stood up. "Of course you show up right now!" She shouted, looking over at him.

"Nata-"

"No!" She shouted. "If this is what I get for trying…" She shook her head and walked down the hall, wiping at tears threatening to fall.

"Natasha." Tony called after her, following her down the hall.

He tried to catch her before she got on the elevator but he couldn't. He just saw her slide to the ground in the elevator, her head in her hands before the doors closed shut.

Steve had messed up. Big time. He didn't understand exactly why she had done what she had done. Flipping out on him for some reason. But he knew it had to do with the kiss. He had made a stupid move, a Stark move as he had started calling it. But it had made him feel something inside. Something he hadn't felt since Peggy. He felt a heat like source course through his body, making him want to press her against the wall. To keep her around. To let her wrap herself around his finger.

He couldn't get it out of his mind. It was all he could think about. It's all he wanted to think about. Something inside of him wouldn't let those life changing moments go. Something kept him from it. And he hated that. But he loved it at the same time. Something about it made him happy and brought life to his heart.

A/N: I hope you like this. This is the second part to this story and my third and fourth are ready to be posted. This didn't take me as long as I feared it would, so I'll be able to get this done faster than I thought. I'm having a tough time deciding which man she should end with. I absolutely love Clintasha, but I also love StevexNatasha with a burning passion of a thousand burnt cookies in a billion suns inside of an oven inside of a bigger oven inside of the sun. (As my friend said) And we can't decide which hottie with a body she should end up with. Because it's such a hard choice. And I love both pairings so much. (: So I may put up a poll so the fans can pick who they want her to end up with. At this moment, I'm guessing it will be Steve. Love you guys. –Rennergirl11


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Next part in this story. Includes Clint this time! AHHHH! So just enjoy.

Disclaimer: Still own nothing but the awkward things I say.

* * *

"Tasha." Clint knocked on her door, trying to be as patient as he could be.

She pulled open the door and turned back to her room, his sign to follow her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded, wiping at tears as she sat down at the desk in her room. "Just fine." Her voice cracked.

"No, you're not." Clint said. "What happened?"

"Nothing. God." She groaned. "Can you please just leave it alone?" She snapped at him.

"Okay." He raised his hands in defeat. "I know what will make you feel better."

"What?" She asked pitifully.

"Gym." He said. "The gym always makes you feel better."

"Seriously?" She asked quietly.

"If you don't, Stark's gonna drag you down there. He wants team training time." Clint said.

Natasha rolled her eyes but stood off of her bed.

"You got your training clothes on?" He asked.

"I always do Barton." She said quietly, tearing off her sweatshirt. Her pale skin grew goose bumps on them as the cool room air hit it.

"Of course you do." Clint said quietly.

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

"Barton, you and Little Red." Tony said. "I want to see some anger."

"But, I'm not angry." She said, looking over at Steve, who was avoiding looking at her.

"Well, you should be." Tony said. "You're always angry actually."

"That is such a Stereotype, you douche." She said, glaring at him.

"Do you want me to bring The Hulk out?" Tony asked.

She shook her head, her voice suddenly lost, her throat suddenly felt tight.

"Good. Then go." Tony said.

She rolled her eyes but kicked off her shoes and faced Clint on the mat, her body trembling slightly. She felt Steve's eyes on her, making her want to launch at him, push him down to the mat and kiss him. What the hell was she thinking? She shook her head and focused back to Clint.

"GO!" Tony shouted.

She shook her head but blocked a punch as Clint threw it at her, sweeping her legs out from under her. As she was falling to the ground, he grabbed her ankle and flicked her higher, causing her to land on her wrist in an abnormal way.

She stood back up, her wrist starting to throb, but forced herself to stand with a grin. "Nice one Barton."

Clint nodded at her, a smirk on his face.

She heard Steve arguing with Tony over something. She heard bits and pieces of it. "She doesn't need to be out there." "She's fine." "No, she's not. She's hurt." "She's fine. Leave her be."

It got her distracted, too distracted, and she was flipped back to the ground.

"Tony." She heard Steve yell at him.

"She's fine." Tony answered him.

She stood back up, her vision starting to blur. She put her hands back up, her wrist a yellow-ish purple color.

"Tasha? You okay?" Clint asked her.

She nodded and this time she was prepared for his punch. She grabbed it with her hand, the one without the bad wrist, and tightened her grip. It caused him to bend down slightly, letting her launch her body over his shoulders and twisting him down to the ground.

She unlatched her body from his and stood back up.

"Hit each other!" Tony yelled, obviously entertained by the sparring partners.

Natasha launched herself at Clint, knocking him back down to the ground.

Clint flipped them over so he was on top of her.

She threw worthless punches at her, causing him to smirk at her. She wrapped her ankles around his, flipping them over. She threw a punch to his face, which he deflected with his elbow.

"Come on! Someone do something exciting!" Tony shouted.

Natasha rammed her elbow into his stomach, causing him to grunt loudly.

He flipped them back open, sitting on her hips. He raised his fist and brought it near her face.

She closed her eyes and was waiting for the hit but it never happened. She felt his weight come off of her body and she opened them back up.

What she saw shocked her. Steve had thrown Clint against the wall in a spurt of anger and was yelling at him.

Tony pushed them apart and started yelling at Steve.

She stood up and watched as Bruce grabbed her wrist and started applying pressure to it, causing her to wince. "There's probably a fracture."

"It'll fix itself." Natasha said mindlessly, staring over at the three arguing boys.

Bruce bent down to grab the first aid kit off of a chair and started to wrap her wrist in white tape.

"It was training!" Clint yelled.

"You were about to punch her!" Steve yelled.

"It would have been awesome!" Tony said, though it wasn't really in the middle of the argument. He was more like that one guy in the crowd that always does the slow claps in the middle of a dead silent moment.

"Shut up!" They both shouted at him.

"I wasn't going to hurt her." Clint said.

"Well, that's what it looked like." Steve said.

"God, you're fucking blind." Clint said. "And if I had hit her, you should know that I wouldn't be able to do that without her beating the shit out of me even more."

Natasha's vision blurred as she stood still, trying to steady herself. "Shit." She muttered quietly.

"Rogers." Bruce called.

Steve turned to look at her and she hung onto Bruce's shoulder, muttering something under her breath.

"She needs to go back to her room." Bruce said.

Steve nodded and turned to tell something to Tony, who was trying to hold Clint back.

He walked over to her and let her hang on his shoulder, and he helped her out of the room.

"What are you doing?" She asked drunkenly.

"I'm taking you back to your room." He said, loading her up on the elevator.

"Why? My wrist will fix itself." She said.

"Yeah, but you need to rest so it doesn't mess up." Steve said. "Cause it's been taking a lot of energy out of you lately."

"I'll be fine." She said.

"You're already halfway out of it Tasha." Steve said. "So, let's just get you to sleep."

She nodded with a sleepy smile on her face as he walked them off the elevator.

He opened the door to her room and helped her over to her bed, ripping the blanket up from the bed and placing her on the bed. He tucked her in under the blanket tightly, causing her to smile.

"Steve…." She muttered quietly, looking up at him.

"Yeah sweetheart?" He asked quietly.

"Are you gonna be here when I wake up?" She asked.

"Do you want me to be?" He asked.

She nodded, a playful smile filling her lips.

"Then I will." He said.

"You promise?" She asked.

"I promise." He nodded.

She stuck out her pinkie. "Promise?"

"Promise." He wrapped his pinkie around hers.

"You break this pinky promise; I break your pinky, 'promise." She said in a small giggle.

"I got it." He nodded, sitting down on the bed with her.

"Sing me to sleep." She said.

"What?" He asked.

"Sing me to sleep. I need to sleep. So sing me to sleep." She said.

"You're insane." He said.

"Do it." She repeated.

"Fine." He groaned. He laid down next to him and smiled over at him. "Christopher Robin and I walked along under branches lit up by the moon." He sung lightly. "Posing our questions to Owl and Eeyore as our days disappeared all too soon. But I've wandered much further today than I should." He shook his head. "And I can't seem to find my way back to the wood. So help me if you can. I've got to get back to the house at Pooh's Corner by one."

He looked over at her and laughed as he saw her eyes closed and she was snoring lightly. He turned off the light and watched her silently as she slept.

Though her eyes were closed, and she was snoring, she wasn't really sleeping. It was her innocent snore that was way different from her regular snoring. Something about being so close to him a closed space didn't let butterflies lose in her stomach. Hell, it let an entire zoo lose in her stomach. It caused it to do somersaults and dances and flips all in one. And she liked it.

A/N: I hope you liked this one. This was more sappy than I thought it would be. But I still like it. And the Pooh's Corner song is the one that Chris sings in that one episode. I loved it. (: So I just decided that it would be perfect. I hope you like this, once again. Please R&R!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for making you guys wait so long. It took me awhile to think of how to make it keep going and then i lost the flashdrive with all the chapters on it.

Disclaimer: Don't own nothing.

* * *

She was fuming. No, that wasn't a good word for this. Pissed. Nope. She was ready to kill anyone who came near her. She had been stupid the night before and hadn't got pissed off at Steve. So all the anger was inside her, swirling around.  
She threw another knife at the target, hitting it right in the throat. It would feel so good to do that to someone.  
She reached for another knife and came up short. Barton... She thought, exiting the shooting range.  
She stormed down the hall and pushed into the gym, which was empty except for one occupant in the corner. The reason she was pissed.  
"Natasha?" Steve asked, before he unclipped the punching bag and placed it on the floor. Why did he have to be so him-ish?  
She didn't say anything, just started searching for the box of knives that her and Clint had hidden in the room.  
She sensed him behind her and she grabbed his wrist before he could put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't touch me." She let go, spinning on her heel to look at him.  
"What's wrong?" He asked.  
"What's wrong?" She repeated louder. "Really?!" She shook her head.  
"God, you're an idiot."  
He blocked her path to get past him. "Answer me."  
"You don't think I can handle this." She said.  
"Handle what?" Steve asked.  
"Handle working with men. Sparring with them." She said. "You threw Barton off of me! You should know that I can hand him his ass any fucking day."  
"He was hurting you." Steve said.  
"No he wasn't! Clint wasn't hurting me. He knows better than to hurt me. Not to push me too far." Natasha said. "He trusts me and I trust him."  
"I understan-"  
"No, you don't understand!" She said. "You will never understand Rogers. Never! You don't know how much I have been through. You don't know how it feels to be known as 'The Ice Queen' or 'Queen Head Bitch.'" She started animatedly moving her hands around. "What hurts even more is when the team leader doesn't think you have the right stuff to be a part of the team."  
"I never said that." Steve said.  
"Prove it." She said. "Fight me."  
"No." Steve said.  
"How the fuck am I supposed to get better and impress you if you won't tell me what I am doing wrong?" She asked.  
Steve nodded hesitantly and walked over to the mat.  
She did a sneak attack and kicked him from behind, causing him to fall. "You're not even trying." She snarled at him.  
"Yes I am." He said.  
"No, you're not. I've seen you do this with the guys." She said. "This better not be because you're afraid you'll break me the second you touch me."  
"Not at all." He said.  
"Tell me what I'm doing wrong." She demanded.  
"Well, one. It's quality over quantity. Doing one perfect attack is better than 20 kinda good attacks. The more you do, the worse off you are." Steve said.  
She nodded. "I want you to actually fight me."  
"Why?" He asked.  
She ignored his question. "Come at me."

* * *

She squirmed under his body. "Is that better?" She asked.  
"Much." He nodded.  
She bit down on her lip as he rolled off of her and laid down next toher.  
"You okay?" Steve asked quietly.  
She nodded, not trusting her voice.  
"Want to try it again?" He asked.  
She nodded, getting back up slowly. She put her hands up and watched as he circled her slowly.  
"Ready?" Steve asked.  
"Mhmm." She said quietly.  
He threw a punch and she dodged it before he hit her sideways with his leg.  
She fell to the ground and bounced back up in a flip.  
He launched forward to grab her and she slid onto her knees and went under his legs.  
She jumped onto his back and flipped them both to the ground. Natasha wrapped her legs around his back as he tried to stand back up.  
He flipped her off of him and kicked her feet out from under her, causing her to land on the ground in a crash.  
He got on his knees and sat on her hips and sat there, a smirk on his face.  
"Yeah. Rub it in." She said sarcastically. She was fighting the urge to pull him down and start kissing him madly.  
"Oh I will." He smiled at her. "I win, I win, I-"  
She couldn't help it. He was acting like a little kid and it was adorable. She gripped onto his white tshirt and pulled him down to her, where she hungrily claimed his lips.  
He was hesitant. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her.  
She flipped them over so she was on top of them and started kissing his neck.  
"Ma'am." He said, his voice faltering some. "What are you doing?"  
"What I've been forcing myself from doing." She muttered against the skin of his neck. She slid her hands under his shirt and onto his chest, digging in as the zoo-like feeling grew in her stomach.  
Steve was shocked. He never saw her acting like this. Even if she was undercover she was never this passionate. But he liked it. She whimpered as he pushed her off of him. Her green eyes searched his baby blue ones. "Steve?" She whispered.  
"What about Barton?" Steve asked quietly.  
She sat for a second, listening to the question over and over again, avoiding his piercing eyes. She looked back up with a smile on her face.  
He sat across from her with a questioning look on his face.  
She stood up and walked over to him, the smile still on her face. She sat down in his lap and threw her arms  
around his neck, bringing their faces closer.  
He stared at her, his eyed filled with timidness.  
She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his ear. "Screw Barton." She said quietly.  
"What?" Steve asked.  
"It'll be an adventure." Natasha said. "And we both love adventures." She reminded him.  
He nodded, looking into her green eyes.  
She pressed her forehead to his and stared at him, the zoo in her stomach flipping and flying. "To be truthful..." She muttered, looking at him. "My favorite superhero always been Captain America."  
He started laughing, causing her to laugh.  
This would be good. Or she hoped it would.

A/N: R&R!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: THis is most likely gonna be the only sappy chapter. Sorry it took forever to update.

Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or any of it's characters.

* * *

It was their weekly movie night, and for the first time, she didn't complain. They were watching an amazing movie (in her eyes anyway) and no-one had started fighting, which was a record for the team.  
"I'm just an a-ca-guy. And you're just an a-ca-girl. And we're gonna have a ca children. It's inevitable."  
Natasha let out a small laugh at that, causing everyone to look at her. "What?" She shrugged, taking a sip of her drink.  
"I'm surprised Little Red can actually laugh." Tony said, grabbing another fistful of popcorn.  
She rolled her eyes and sat the drink down. She stretched her legs out and laid them over Steve's lap.  
He shot her a look.  
She shrugged and yawned. A good thing about her being, well, her, was that no-one questioned why she'd lay on anyone mostly when she was "oh so tired."  
Clint sent her a look from the seat he was sharing with Thor, which was an interesting look. He was crunched up against the side of it while Thor sat happily, clapping along with the song.  
Her eyes flickered closed for a moment as her mind swirled.  
She felt an elbow go into her side and her eyes jolted open, sending Tony a death glare. "If you're not gonna watch it, go away." Tony said.  
"Whatever." She grumbled, standing up. "I'll see you guys later." She said as she walked to the elevator and got on.

* * *

Steve stumbled into his room, flipping the light off. He didn't remember leaving it on.  
He climbed into his bed and leaned back against it, his head hitting the pillow.  
He started to close his eyes when he became aware of a noise coming from the bathroom. The shower was running.  
He grabbed the sketchbook off of the nightstand and stood up, walking towards the bathroom.  
The water stopped and he froze. What was going on?  
He reached to turn the doorknob when the door flew open to a dripdrying Natashsa, who jumped as she saw Steve nearly bring the sketchbook down on her head. "Where you going to hit me?" She asked.  
"Yes!" He shouted. "What are you doing in my bathroom?"  
She rolled her eyes and pushed past him, tightening the towel around her torso. She opened his closet and stepped inside.  
"What are you-" He heard the towel fall to the floor, making him gulp. "Natasha?" He asked. Natasha came out in one of his button-ups, a blue and white one she had recongnized instantly when she saw it. It went down past her knees and the sleeves were a good two inches past her hands.  
"You have a way of making yourself at home." He said as she sat down on his bed.  
She shrugged. "I know."  
He sat back on the bed and sat the sketchbook down.  
He leaned back against the headboard, shaking his head. "How did you get in here?" He asked.  
"Did you really just ask the master assassin spy girl how she broke into your room?" Natasha asked. "Wow."  
She crawled over to him and sat in between his legs.  
"You really have a way of making yourself comfy." He said.  
"I know." She nodded, taking his large hand in her small one.  
He kissed the back of her head as she played with his fingers Being with him brought comfort. It made her feel safe and cared for.  
And that was something she never was before.  
"Steve?" She asked quietly, his arm that was wrapped around her stomach keeping her from going anywhere.  
"Yeah?" Steve asked.  
She tilted her head back and kissed him slowly. She let out a sigh of content and closed her eyes as he started playing with her fingers in his hand.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This is a more angsty one than the last one. Oh drama, how i loveth thee.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything

* * *

"A simulation?" Thor asked loudly, scratching his head.  
"It's like something that could happen in real life, but it doesn't really." Tony said.  
Thor scratched his head some more and Tony shook his head.  
"Who the fuck comes up with these ideas?" Natasha growled.  
"Hill." Clint shrugged beside her.  
Bruce looked over at them. "Wait. I thought Fury was in cha-"  
"Please don't start this arguement again." Steve said. "It's like the Hill/Coulson thing all over again."  
Tony rolled his eyes dramatically. "I bet Agent Hill just wants to see the Star Spangled Man With A Plan in the tights again."  
Natasha clenched her fists tightly, glaring at Tony.  
"What's wrong?" Tony asked. "Am I messing with your overseer too much?"  
"My what?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.  
"Your Overseer. You know, boss. Kinda owns you." Tony shrugged.  
"Whoa. You think she's my damn overseer?" She asked, anger peaking in  
her voice.  
"I mean, she obviously is. She is more qualified." Tony said.  
She stepped forward and stared up at him, the difference in height not making anything better.  
"Wanna try again Shortcake?" Tony asked.  
Her eyes flashed with anger and she glared at him. "I am not afraid to hit an old man."  
"You think I'm old?" Tony laughed. "Have you read your files correctly?" He asked.  
"You are so damn lucky there are people here, because if there wasn't, you would so be through that glass panel now." She said, poking him in the chest, finger next to the arc reactor.  
"Bring Shorty." Tony smirked at her.  
Natasha grabbed his neck and pulled back when Clint grabbed her. "Let him go." He said into her ear.  
Natasha squirmed against, letting go of Tony, who let out a large breath. "You are so damn lucky." She growled at him. "Guys, Come on. I want Stark and Thor that way. Check overhead." Steve pointed to other side of the simulator. "Barton, you're with me. We got up high  
and down low." He turned to Natasha. "You and Banner stay here."  
"Excuse me?" Natasha asked, her voice hard and on edge.  
"I said, you and Banner are staying down here." Steve said.  
"Bu-" Steve shot her a look. She nodded. "Of course sir." She turned to Bruce snd crossed her arms.  
"Let's go Barton." Steve said, grabbing his shield.

* * *

"I swear, it's like I'm gonna break if i'm on the field." She ranted. The same thing she had been doing since she had been stuck "surveying." She was laying on her stomach, head on her arm.  
Bruce nodded and agreed, though he most likely had given up listening forever ago.  
"And I mean, when we have to abort the simulation because we let the villan go because we all are yanking Barton and Rogers off of each other." She threw her hands up in exasperation.  
Bruce let out a small chuckle and shook his head.  
"I mean, seriously." Se growled, propping her chin in the palm of her hand, setting her elbow on the ground. "It pisses me off."  
"I can tell." Bruce said, a small smile on his lips.  
"Thanks Doc." Natasha said quietly.  
"No problem." Bruce said, winking at her.  
She shook her head and watched from the incline, they were on the rest of the simulation area working, fighting, but not each other.

* * *

"What is wrong Natasha?" Steve asked, following after her.  
"What's wrong?" She asked, "Oh, nothing's wrong Mr. Captain Steven Rogers Sir." She said, her voice filled with anger.  
"I can tell something is wrong." Steve grabbed ahold of her elbow and yanked her towards him. "What is wrong?"  
"You are treating me like a defenseless little baby." Natasha growled. "I mean, really."  
"I thought it was best for the t-"  
"You thought it was best for you. So you could keep me safe from a fake battle. Do you know how dumb that fucking is?" Natasha growled.  
"That is not why I di-"  
"I'm done with this conversation Captain." Natasha yanked her arm out of his grip. "If you'll excuse me sir." She said coldly, stalking down the hall with anger coursing through her body.

* * *

She laid on her bed, eyes still wide open. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't think. She just wanted to disappear into the bed and be gone forever.  
She knew he was just trying to protect her, but she wasn't a baby. She was a big girl, and she could take care of herself.  
She fought the want to get out of her bed, walk out of her room, run down the hall, and break into his room and say she was sorry for getting so pissed. So she could feel his strong arms around her as she slept. To hear his steady heartbeat against her back. For him to kiss her and just take care of her the way he did. To be able to wear his clothes, his super way too big for her but way too comfy not to wear clothes.  
But she couldn't do that. She was the Black Widow. She was the girl that was way too strong to care. She couldn't let The Oh So Amazing Captain America break her. She just couldn't


	7. Chapter 7

"Take your hands off of her." She had never been so relieved to hear his voice in her life.  
"Or what?" The man asked.  
"Or I'll make sure that's the worst mistake you've ever made." Steve said.  
"Oh no. I'm so scared." The man said sarcastically. He pushed Natasha away slightly and stood up, looking Steve in the eye.  
Steve shoved him, pushing him into the table.  
"Wow, you're so strong." He said.  
Natasha hadn't thought of running. It had never crossed her mind. So when arms wrapped around her and yanked her back, she finally snapped back into reality. She flailed in the man's arms but it was hopeless.  
Steve punched the man in front of him, causing him to crash into the table. He turned to Natasha and raised his eyebrow.  
She bit the man's arm, causing him to twist, and Steve landed a punch to his face.  
She fell onto the ground, still in the man's arms and groaned as her head hit the chair.  
"Natasha?" Steve asked quietly.  
She looked up and reached her hand out for him.  
He grabbed her hand and pulled her up slowly.  
She looked down at the men on the ground and rubbed at her head.  
He grabbed ahold of her body and pulled her towards him in a hug.  
She tensed against him. She couldn't give into him. Into the temptation.  
He let go of her and smiled, pushing a piece of her red hair back.  
"You wanna go?" He asked.  
She nodded, biting on her lip.  
"You trust me?" He asked. She nodded again.  
He took his leather jacket off and handed it to her. "Put it on."  
She nodded, pulling it on and tightening it around her.  
"Come on." He said, opening the door for her.  
She walked in front of him, barefoot on the gravel, as agents ran inside the building.  
He followed after her, the high heels she had discarded in his hands.  
"Hey." She heard a voice and turned. "You okay?" Clint asked.  
"I'm fine." Natasha said, a small smile on her busted lips.  
"You want me to take you in?" He asked.  
"I got it." She said. "Gotta get briefed."  
"Okay." Clint said, raising an eyebrow at her.  
"Don't worry." She said. "I've got it."  
He nodded before sending Steve a look, getting into the car.  
She leaned into Steve as the car drove away. She looked up at him. "Can we go home?" She said quietly.  
"You wanna go home?" She nodded. "We'll go home." He said quietly. He pointed to his motorcycle and she smiled up at him.  
She gripped onto his arm and followed him over to it.  
He handed her the high heels before he started the motorcycle. He sat down and patted the spot behind him.  
She slipped on the heels and sat down behind him, wrapping her arms around him.  
"You ready?" He asked, turning slightly to look at her.  
She nodded, a smile on her lips.  
He revved it slightly before it started going forward.  
She squeaked slightly, holding onto him as they started on the road.

"Where are we going?" She asked quietly as he pulled the motorcycle up to the restaurant.  
"We're gonna eat." He said. "And then we'll go home." He pulled the key out.  
She nodded and climbed off the bike, the jacket nearly swallowing her whole.  
He followed after her, smiling down at her messy red hair.  
Their hands brushed and he didn't hesitate. He grabbed her hand in his and laced their fingers together, bright red creeping up on her cheeks.  
He let out a small chuckle as the waitress sat them down at a small booth, letting her slide in before him. He smoothly placed his arm over her shoulder and she laid her head down on his shoulder.  
"I'm sorry." Steve said quietly to her as the waitress sat drinks down in front of them.  
She quirked her eyebrow as he ordered for them.  
As the lady walked away, she stared up at Steve. "What are you talking about?" She asked quietly.  
"I'm sorry." He said. "About not letting you be out on the field a few days ago. I know it was a simulation but still." He shook his head.  
She shook her head. "Shutup." She said, leaning into him.  
"What?" He asked.  
"You were just protecting me." She said quietly. "And I love that."

"Are you shitting me?" She asked as they stood underneath the awning of the restaurant, rain pouring down.  
"No." He shook his head, staring at his motorcycle. "We could make the best of this."  
"What are you talking about?" She asked.  
"Come on Natasha." He shrugged. "You know you've always wanted to do it."  
"Do what?" She asked.  
"Act like a little kid in the rain." He said. "I mean, almost all the movies I've seen lately have that romantic scene in the rain after the big argument."  
"What movies have you been watching?" She asked, eyebrow raised.

He smiled down at her, his baby blue eyes churning into her green eyes.  
"Fine." She said stubbornly, even though she had always wanted to do that. It may be weird to want, but she did.  
"Seriously?" He asked.  
"We're gonna look like a bunch of weirdos, but yes." She smiled at him.  
"Go then." He pointed out to the rain.  
"Oh, so it's always the girl out in the rain?" She asked.  
"Yeah, you obviously haven't been watching the same movies I have Natasha." He said, making her laugh.  
"Fine." She said, taking her heels off. "If I get sick the-"  
"Then I'm gonna take care of you." He said, taking her by surprise.  
She looked up at his blue eyes, eyebrow raised as she searched his face. He wasn't lying about it. And she loved that.  
She walked out into the rain and stood there, feeling it soak through her curled red hair, her clothes sticking to her body.  
He stood under the awning and waved at her, that adorable grin on his face.  
"You coming?" She asked.  
"You gotta give me a second." He said.  
She groaned dramatically, rolling her eyes.  
He walked out in the rain and walked straight up to her. He grabbed her and pulled him towards her.  
She tried to push away slightly.  
"You're not running away anymore." He said. "We're gonna make this work."  
"What if we can't?" She asked.  
"Can't is the real C word." He said.  
She started laughing hard, a smile on her face.  
"I was just protecting you. I don't want to lose you." He said.  
"I don't want to lose you either." She said, and for the first time, she meant it with her heart, with every part of her body.

She stood on her tippy-toes and leaned up to kiss him but failed. They both tumbled to the ground, laughing.  
"Maybe next time, I should go down to kiss you." Steve said, sitting up.  
"That might be a good idea." She said, still laughing.  
He leaned over and kissed her. "Better?"  
"Better." She nodded and looked up at the sky as raindrops beaded her face.

She stiffened slightly as she got pushed against the wall. "Barton, what are you doing?"  
He smelt like alcohol. And she wanted to barf at that moment.  
"Barton, let go of me." Natasha said, trying to push past him.  
He slammed her against the wall, his eyes dark as he stared at her.  
"I'm serious Clint." She growled.  
"You're gonna listen to me." He growled at her, an ugly snarl on his face.  
She struggled against his hands but it was worthless to even try. It was drunk Barton. Not regular Barton. Anything he did wasn't in his right mind.  
"Clint, just let me go." She said.  
He dug her shoulders into the wall and snarled. "You're not going anywhere."  
"Yes I am." She spat at him.  
He moved his arm slightly and she took the chance to bite it.  
She felt his heavy hand make contact with her skin and she cried out in pain.  
He dropped her down to the floor and she laid on the floor, groaning.  
She closed her eyes, hearing a scuffle close to her. She opened her eyes and saw Steve push Clint against the wall. "What the fuck ma-" it never finished as Steve punched him hard.  
Clint spit and a tooth crashed to the ground next to Natasha.  
"You really want to do this now?" Steve asked. "Cause I'm willing to do this anytime."  
Clint wiped blood from his mouth and put up his fists. "Yeah. Why not?"  
She groaned as her world started to spin.

She felt a washrag on her forehead as she opened her eyes.  
"You're up." She heard the comfort in his voice.  
"Yeah, I am." She said, her throat hoarse and raw.  
"You okay?" He asked, wiping at the top of her forehead.  
She nodded, her face aching slightly. "He's got a big hand." She said quietly.  
"Shh." He said, putting the washcloth into the bowl by his bed. "You tired?"  
She nodded, a yawn escaping her lips.  
He smiled and stood up, turning off the light.  
"What are you doing?" She asked as his figure disappeared into the shadows.  
He came back, a blanket dragging behind him and a bouquet of red roses wrapped up in it. He laid the blanket on the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed, the only light in the entire apartment like area the table lamp.  
She raised an eyebrow at him as he extended the flowers out to her. "What the hell Rogers?" She asked quietly, looking at his baby blue eyes.  
"I thought it was about time I asked you out on a proper date." Steve said.  
"And who's saying I'll say yes?" She asked quietly.  
"Would you really say no to this face?" He asked, giving her the best puppy dog pout he could muster.  
"Yes." She laughed. She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. "But I won't."  
He smiled and pressed his lips to hers, smiling. He sat down on the bed and patted the area in between his legs that she always crawled to. She sat in between his legs and used his lap as her pillow.  
"You comfy?" He asked.  
"Of course I am." She said quietly, a smile on her lips.  
"Pictures?" He asked.  
She nodded as he pulled the sketchbook out.  
She yanked it out of his hands and looked at the cover. "When did you get this one?" She asked.  
"A week ago." He answered as she flipped it open. "It's our version of a photo album."  
She looked at the pictures, flipping the page. She smiled widely at one and took his hand in hers. "I love this one." She said quietly.  
On the page was her, dressed in his button-up that was way too big. She was sitting the way she was right now, hands playing with his, as he kissed the back of her head.  
"Thought you would." He said, a small smile on his lips. "I want you to look at this one." He flipped the page.  
She let out a small gasp. It was covered in pictures of the events earlier in the day. They were standing on the edge of the parking lot and she was leaning into him, looking up. The next one was at the diner, his arm around her shoulder, her head on his shoulder. The one after that was them standing in the rain, her on her tippy-toes. And the last one was them laying on the ground when they had fallen, every last detail perfect.  
"You like it?" He asked.  
She didn't know what to say so she just nodded and looked up at him. She leaned up and kissed him, and rolled out from in between his legs. She laid on her side and faced the wall. The light flicked off and she heard the sketchbook get laid down on the table. She felt his arms wrap around her as he positioned himself behind her, and pulled her closer to him, pulling the blanket over them. She let out a breath as his steady heartbeat filled her head.  
"Hey." He whispered quietly, a smile on his face.  
"Hmm?" She asked quietly as he kissed her temple.  
"I like this." He said quietly.  
"I do too." She turned her head to look at him and saw his baby blue eyes she loved the most. They were part of the reason she wanted to be with him so much. Comfort and hope, and love.  
This was one routine she would never get tired of. It was finally one she was willing to do. This was a moment she loved. And she'd give anything for it to last.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or anything in the Marvel Universe. I also do not own Sour Patch Kids, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, 'Kiss Quick' by Matt Nathanson, 'Thrift Shop' by Macklemore featuring Wanz, 'The Evil Dead', 'Jurassic Park', 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation', or 'The Croods.' I do however own the reactions I had to those movies, which some are shown through the story. Enjoy!

"Hmm." She turned her head slightly and was met with Tony's nose right in her face.

"Yes Mr. Stark?" She asked quietly.

"Don't Mr. Stark me." He moved back, hopping onto her desk. "I'm not stupid Romanoff."

"I have never thought that Mr. Stark." She said, her voice small and innocent. "Why would I ever think that a man of such reverence like you is an idiotic moron who needs to be put down?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, his brown eyes narrowing. "I'm onto you Little Red."

"Bring it, Big Boy." She said with a smirk, standing up with the files.

"So, what happened to Big Bird?" Tony asked. "Cause his tooth's missing. And his face is swollen."

"I have absolutely no idea." She said innocently, shrugging her small shoulders. Her back was to him as she opened up the filing cabinet, her shoulder-length red hair in curls.

"Why is there a mark on your face?" He asked.

"There is no mark on my face; I can assure you of that Mr. Stark." She said, turning to look at him.

"I don't think you've looked in the mirror lately Natashalie." Tony said. "There's a mark that kinda looks like the edge of a hand."

Natasha tensed and turned back to the cabinet, placing the folders into a section.

"I'm not wrong, am I?" He asked quietly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said.

"Yes you do." Tony said. "Even Thor could piece this together."

"What exactly could he piece together?" Natasha asked, heading back to her seat.

"That you, young lady, are seeing someone." Tony said. "My money's on Barton."

Natasha rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. She looked up at the clock and grabbed her coat.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tony asked.

"It's four, boss. I can leave." She shrugged, buttoning the jacket around her dress..

"Since when?" Tony asked.

"Since Pepper allowed me to. So, I'm gonna go. And you go ahead and start the bet with who I'm with." She said, grabbing her bag and pulling it over her shoulder. "Have a nice night Mr. Stark. And remember. Tonight's your date night. Pepper would really like for you to remember."

"Right." Tony said, watching her as she walked out. "I'm gonna figure it out Natasha!"

"Good luck with that Stark!" She called as she climbed onto the elevator, looking at the small watch under the jacket's sleeve. She clicked Steve's floor button and looked out as the glass elevator climbed over the city.

The elevator doors opened and Steve walked on. "You ready?" He asked.

She nodded, a small smile on her lips as the elevator started the descent to the street level. She had to admit, she was pretty proud of him. He was in blue jeans and a button-up shirt and his jacket. Nothing too dressy.

The doors opened and they both walked off, heading down the sidewalk. "So, where we going?" She asked quietly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him.

"Well, I have no idea." Steve said. "First, going to go get the car so we don't walk all night."

"That's a good idea." She let a small laugh escape her lips as they walked into a parking garage that was around the corner. "I swear, I'm gonna kill Stark."

"What did he do now?" Steve asked.

"He's starting a pool about who I'm seeing." Natasha shook her head. "His bet's Barton."

"Damn, I was really thinking he'd say me." Steve said. "Looks like I'm gonna be winning."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

"Oh, he made the bet with me. He was gonna bet a thousand dollars on who it was." Steve said. "He's gonna lose."

"And you're happy about that?" She asked quietly.

"Not happy. Ecstatic."

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "You're so weird." She said quietly as he unlocked the car door for her.

"Your highness." He said, gesturing to the open door.

"Thank you my liege." She laughed, climbing into the car. He closed it behind her and she buckled as he got in on the drivers' side. "Okay, where now?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Wherever the car takes us, I guess." Steve said.

"I like that idea." She smiled at him.

He pulled the car into reverse as she pressed the radio and started laughing.

"What is this?" Steve asked as they pulled out of the parking garage.

She started moving in her seat, "dancing" along to the song.

"Seriously, what is this?" Steve asked, looking over at her.

"I'm gonna pop some tags, only got twenty dollars in my pocket. I- I- I'm hunting, looking for a come-up. This is fucking awesome!" Natasha sung along with the song, laughing as she looked at Steve's face that was horrified.

Steve reached forward and turned off the radio.

"Nah, walk up to the club like, "What up, I got a big cock!" I'm so pumped about some shit from the thrift shop. Ice on the fr-" Steve pressed his hand over her mouth, causing her to send him a glare.

"If I take my hand away, will you please stop singing that horrible song?" She nodded, her eyebrow raised at him.

He took his hand away and immediately regretted it.

"Smells like R. Kelly's sheets. Pissssss. But shit, it was ninety-nine cents." She let out a laugh as he reached across to cover her mouth again. She smacked it and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm done."

"What was that?" Steve asked.

"Thrift Shop." She shrugged, a smile on her face.

"Wait, what?" Steve asked.

"It's called Thrift Shop." Natasha said quietly. "It's a really good song."

"How is that a re-" He shook his head. "I don't even want to know."

She laughed, reaching forward to turn the radio on and he smacked her hand. "What was that about?"

"No more Thrift Shop." He warned her.

"Fine." She groaned, leaning forward and pressed the radio button and changed the channel. "Is this better?"

"What is it?" Steve asked.

She shrugged and pressed the window button, rolling it down and sticking her hand out the window.

He smiled over at her, eyebrow raised as she sang along with the song quietly.

"Kiss quick, I've got a line out the door who all think they can save me. One by one, they lay the world at my feet. One by one, they drive me crazy." She continued to stare out the window. "Shut your mouth; pull me out, before this all goes grey. One by one, they lay the world at my feet. One by one, they go away."

Steve grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb against it soothingly, making her turn her attention back to him. He kissed the back of her hand, making her smile.

"It's Kiss Quick." She said quietly, turning back away from him.

Steve nodded, holding her hand as they turned down a road.

"Two tickets for…." Steve looked over at Natasha, who was grinning like an idiot. "We are not seeing that scary movie." He told her, making her scrunch up her nose.

"Scary movie." She pouted.

"No." He shook his head.

"Jurassic Park." She smiled innocently.

He raised his eyebrow, shooting her a look.

"Fine. The Croods?" She asked, looking up at him like a little kid.

"Animated movie?" He asked.

"That's the only thing you'll let me see. So yes. Animated." Natasha nodded.

"Not G.I. Joe?" Steve asked.

Natasha shook her head. "Bruce Willis is gonna be the only good person in it. Yeah, sure, Channing Tatum. But he's not stripping, so Croods."

Steve shook his head and looked up at the lady. "Sorry about that." He said. "Two tickets to The Croods." He handed the lady the money and grabbed the tickets from her.

"Theater 7." The lady pointed around the corner. "Have a nice night."

"Thanks." Natasha said quietly, pulling Steve with her. "Smooth."

"I'm not letting you watch scary movies." Steve said.

"Why not?" Natasha pouted.

"That's why." He pointed to a couple coming out of a theater.

The girl was in tears and clutching onto the boy. The boy had claw marks in his skin from where she had clutched onto him tightly. The boy was trying to calm her down. "We were only in there for 30 minutes, sweetheart." The girl whimpered, tightening the grip she had on his arm.

"I would not cry." Natasha said quietly. "I would be jumping, but not crying."

"Keep telling yourself that." Steve said, making her laugh.

"Fine." She said as they stepped towards the concession stand.

"Popcorn?" He asked.

She nodded and he ordered, stopping when she poked him in the ribs. "Yes Natasha?" He asked.

She pointed to the candy shelf, straight to the Sour Patch Kids.

"And Sour Patch Kids." Steve said, making Natasha smile as the man passed them the food.

As they walked away, Steve looked down at her. "Are you ready now?"

She nodded and leaned into his side, taking a handful of popcorn and placing it into her mouth.

"Be truthful." She said as they walked back out to the car. "If you were Guy, would you be attracted to her?"

"Would you be attracted to Guy?" Steve asked.

"The animated character, yes. Not the guy who's his voice." She shook her head. "Ryan Reynolds is not my cup of tea." She shrugged. "You into Emma Stone?"

"Who?"

"The voice of the girl."

"Oh." He shrugged. "I'm more attracted to Russians."

"And I'm more attractive to Americans." She laughed. "That wasn't very clear, was it?"

He shook his head, making her laugh.

"You know what I meant." She said quietly.

"Actually, I don't think I do." Steve said, kissing her head.

"Where to next Captain?" She asked.

"An amazing place that looks even better at night." He said.

A/N: So, this is gonna be split into two parts, because I couldn't bring myself to being mean to them during their date. So the second part of their date may crush some of your dreams and all. So, now I'm gonna go ranting about my faithful reviewers. Lily M.85, who has been there from the start along with sv4me. Also to GODZILLAGIRL, inubaka88, MysticFantasy, TiffOdair, Irongirl1, and Avamys. And also my amazing critic ym4yum1 who has given me helpful tips and has told me the parts she loved. I'm so happy that I have my reviewers and my followers. 22 followers and 9 favorites, which is amazing. Thank you guys so much and I love you guys. I really do. Don't forget to review so I can know what you think. XOXO Rennnergirl11.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

"Oh my god Steve!" Natasha screeched as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Open your eyes Tasha, it's really cool." He said, holding onto her with his arm.

"No!" She said. "No, no, no!"

"Please. You can see the Tower from here. And it really does look like crap even from far away." He said quietly.

She opened her bright green eyes and looked out across the city, squeaking as she noticed how high up they were. "Liar. You can't even see it." She smacked him.

"It was worth a try." He laughed. "Just look over there." He pointed to the skyline with a smile.

She looked and saw nothing but stars and couldn't help the sigh that left her lips. "It's so beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you are." He said quietly, kissing her head.

She couldn't help the blush that grew on her cheeks, clutching onto him tightly as the Ferris wheel stopped at the very top.

"Shit, shit, shit!" She growled. "It needs to move. It needs to move."

Steve laughed, his breath visible in the air. "Hey." He said, catching her chin in his fingers. "It's gonna be okay."

"You promise?" She asked quietly, her breath catching in her chest.

"I promise." He nodded, kissing her lips gently.

She sighed and laid her head against his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "I'm gonna keep you safe. Just wait and see."

"I know you will." She said quietly, sticking her face into his chest.

* * *

"So," Steve said as she laid her head on his shoulder. "You know why I picked today to take you on a date?" They were sitting on a bench near the edge of Central Park.

"Because you asked me out last night?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I did, didn't I?" He asked. "No, that's not it at all."

"Then what is it?" She asked.

"It is our seven month anniversary."

"Seven? You sure?"

"Well, on again, off again months. But yeah, I'm sure."

"And when did this start?"

"Well, let's see." He wrapped his arm around her. "I believe it was the moment in the gym when you yanked me down and kissed me."

"That is not what happened!" She protested against him, shooting him a look. "You kissed me first."

"Yeah, I did. But if we were following that timeline, it would be seven and a half months." Steve said. "And that can't happen."

"Cause it would mess up your "brilliant" plan, right?" She rolled her eyes. "Right."

"Anyway, I thought that at seven months, having a first date would be a good idea." He said. "It might not have been an amazing first date bu-" He shut his mouth as she kissed him.

"Hey Captain?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut-up." She said quietly, wrapping her arms around his neck and climbing into his lap.

His blue eyes grew wide in surprise before he kissed her deeply, only pulling away when they needed to breathe.

"Wow." She said, her breath heavy.

He nodded in agreement before kissing her again.

She started laughing against his lips, causing him to pull away, eyebrow raised. "What?"

"You've changed Rogers." She said quietly. "Seven months ago, you were afraid to even touch me."

"Well, you know. Things change." He said, before kissing her again.

"And I'm glad they do." She said against his lips, shifting so she was straddling his laps.

He grunted against her lips and she dug her nails into the back of his neck.

She let out a small moan, looking into his eyes. She looked down at her watch and groaned. "We should get back." She said quietly. "It's getting late, and the others are gonna figure it out."

He nodded at her and she climbed off his lap.

* * *

Natasha fumbled with the elevator buttons, her hands shaking, her body shaking from the course of energy that was rushing through her. His jacket was over her shoulders, formerly keeping her body from the freezing wind

Steve stood on the other side of the elevator, awkwardly, with his hands pushed into his pockets.

She laid her head against the elevator wall, letting out a breath, breaking the silence. The elevator dinged, and she stepped forward, turning to look at him. "I'll, um, see you later."

"Night." He said, giving her a small smile.

"Night." She stepped off the elevator onto her floor as the doors closed behind her, heading up to Steve's floor.

She stood in the empty vestibule, staring at the dark gray floral wallpaper. The empty area leading to all the rooms to her floor made her feel hollow. As she neared the door to her apartment, she caught sight of something on the table by the door. A bouquet of flowers, a small box and a single drawn picture sat against the mahogany table. She picked up the paper and stared at the picture. It was her and Steve, dancing. She flipped it over and read the handwriting that had become so familiar. All letters capital letters, lowercase smaller than uppercase.

HAPPY ANNIVERSERY RUSSIAN PRINCESS. LOVE, THE AMERICAN

She let out a laugh before she saw the small writing under it.

FLOWERS-

PRIMROSE: YOUNG LOVE, I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT YOU

BUTTERCUP: CHILDISHNESS

FORGET-ME-NOT: FAITHFUL LOVE, MEMORIES

WHITE HEATHER: PROTECTION FROM DANGER

That was the moment she made her mind up. She dropped the picture to the ground and kicked off her heels, running towards the stairwell.

She took the stairs two at a time, the energy coursing through her body again as she continued up. Three floors, four floors. Five floors up and she pushed the door hard, rushing into the vestibule.

"Natasha?" Steve asked as she stood in front of him, eyebrow raised.

She pushed him hard, wrapping her arms around his neck and claiming his lips hungrily, pushing him into the door of his apartment. His jacket fell off her shoulders onto the floor.

He gripped blindly behind him for the doorknob, pushing in when it opened. He kicked the door closed with his foot.

* * *

She nuzzled against his bare chest, placing her head under his chin. She let out a small sigh as his arms wrapped around her.

He kissed her head as she fidgeted in his arms, trying to get comfortable. "You okay?" He asked quietly.

She nodded, kissing his jaw and blinking her big green eyes open. "What time is it?" She asked quietly.

"Eight." Steve said into her red curls.

She rubbed at her tired eyes. "Shit." She said quietly. "Stark's gonna start searching for me."

He chuckled, making her smile.

"I'm being so serious right now." She stretched her arms out. "He's a douche who doesn't believe in letting The Natasha who can kill him over a thousand ways sleep in for a bit."

"I love how you reference yourself as The Natasha." Steve said with a laugh. "It's so official."

"Cause The Natasha is that official." She said, a smile on her face.

"When's our next date?" Steve asked. "Cause the boy who likes Russians would like to know what the girl who likes Americans is thinking about another date."

"That girl would love another date." She said quietly, pressing her lips to his. "For an old man, you're not too bad."

He threw his head back laughing. "So, now I'm the oldie? Last time I checked, we're the same age."

"Yeah, but you got 70 years on me. Those still count." She smirked at her.

"Only you would count those." He shook his head.

"Hey, great idea." Natasha said quietly. "We have to celebrate your seventy birthdays you missed." She laughed. "I think that deserves at least a weekend at the beach."

"Only the weekend?" He asked.

"I said at least a weekend." She said.

He nodded, kissing her head. "Natasha, I am about to say something really stupid, and I will probably regret this the moment I say it, but it needs to be said."

She looked up at him, green eyes searching his face.

He closed his eyes and put his face in her hair. "I love you."

Natasha froze, her body starting to tremble.

"Shit, I shouldn't have said that." Steve said.

She reached up and placed her hand on his face. "It's not that." She shook her head. "You can't love me."

"But I do. I do." He said. "And I know that it's selfish. And stupid. And I shouldn't but I can't stop myself from loving you."

Natasha shook her head. "No-one can love me. I'm a monster. And no-one can love a monster Steve."

"You're not. You are not a monster." He said quietly. "You are the most beautiful person I have ever met. You are fierce, and brave, and fearless. And you have a heart that is able to love and it needs to receive love to be able to give it." He kissed her head. "And so that's what I'm doing."

She shook her head. "You can't love me."

"No, I shouldn't love you. I mean, we're teammates. We're friends. We have the nosiest person ever who's house we live in. And we have overprotective men who fight to keep you happy and safe." He said quietly. "But for the first time, I'm not listening to what others want me to do. I'm doing what I want to. And loving you is what I want."

She smiled up at him.

"I just wanted to tell you." He said. "Cause you know, every second counts on the clock that's ticking. Gotta tell them that we love them while we got the chance to say."

"You gotta live you're dying." She shook her head. "I,I-"

"You don't have to say anything." He said quietly. "Just knowing I can see a side of you that the others don't is enough."

She laid there and stared up at his blue eyes, not knowing what to say for a good few minutes. When she finally spoke, she almost regretted it. Almost. "I, I, I um, I gotta go Steve." She said quietly. "Stark's gonna figure it out. And I'd rather him not."

He nodded, laying a kiss to her head. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah." She nodded, standing up out of the bed and pulling her clothes on slowly, avoiding his eyes and his stare.

She picked her heels up as she walked into the vestibule of her floor, heading back over to the table. She picked up the flowers and the picture, before picking up the small box.

She walked into her apartment, closing the door behind her softly, laying the flowers on the counter and opening the small box.

The box opened three-fourths of the way and she nearly dropped it as she saw it. It was a small ring attached to a necklace, bright and shiny. She picked the ring up carefully, the inside of it engraved, reading

_I was a fool to fall and get this way._

She sat it back down, walking through her apartment. She noticed her magazines on the tabletop, and they were not in the order they had been the day before.

She grabbed her knife from under the kitchen counter, holding it in front of her as she walked through the apartment, holding onto the knife with an iron like grip.

When she found nothing and no-one, she turned around with her brows furrowed and letting out a sigh. Maybe she was just paranoid. She let out a breath, rubbing at her head and she walked to the bedroom, pulling off her dress and pulling on sweats and an S.H.I.E.L.D. issued t-shirt. She looked at herself in the mirror and rubbed at her fuzzy red hair.

She dropped the knife to the counter of the bathroom sink and she put her head in her hands. What the hell had she done? What the hell had she gotten herself into? Why the hell did she get sucked into a relationship when she obviously wasn't sure she could ever love?

The answers were easy. She had fallen in love. She got herself into a whirlwind relationship with an amazing man. Because she was in love with him. But those answers, they couldn't be true. They shouldn't be true. But they were.

"Ms. Romanoff, Mr. Stark would like to see you down in his office." JARVIS's voice sounded in the bathroom, scaring her.

"Um, okay. I'll be there in a moment." She said, standing back up and pulling on the sweatpants, yanking them up on her stomach.

She rode the elevator down to the level with Stark's offices and walked into the dark floor. "Stark?"

The door to his office was opened and a light was on. Shit, she knew he was going to be in there.

She stumbled in there, rubbing at her eyes and sitting down in a chair, smiling. "Morning Mr. Stark." She said quietly.

He turned in his chair, grinning like a madman. "How was your night last night Ms. Romanoff?" Tony asked.

"It was good Mr. Stark. And how was yours?" She asked.

"Just fine." Tony smirked at her. "Anything interesting happening last night?"

"Just went and saw a movie." She said. "And then to the Ferris wheel. And that's about it."

"By your lonesome self?" Tony asked.

"Yep." Natasha nodded.

"That's funny." He said, clicking some button, making a picture come up onto the wall. "Then who's this man you're with?"

Natasha shrugged, looking down at her nails, bored.

"Well, you seem pretty happy, whoever it is." He said, a new picture coming onto the wall. This one made her tense slightly. The man's face was fuzzy, unable to tell who it was, but she was laughing and was folding into his touch.

"Is that all Mr. Stark?" She asked, her voice dripping with boredom.

"Yeah." Tony said with a nod. "Go ahead."

Natasha stood up and walked towards the door.

"Wait."

She turned around and raised an eyebrow as he fumbled around in his desk. "Yes sir."

"Take this to Steve." Tony said, handing her an envelope. "That'll be all."

"Yes sir." She said, clutching the envelope in her hands and walking out the door and getting into the elevator before opening it. Inside were hundred dollar bills. Ten of them. She dropped it to the ground, shaking her head before picking it back up. "Shit, shit, shit." She groaned, pacing the floor before she opened it to her floor. "Shit!"


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't know anything.

A/N: Make sure to read the A/N at the end of this chapter. It includes a sneak peek at the chapter after this. Enjoy!

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" She asked quietly as Bruce walked past her, boxes in hand.

"What do you want me to tell you Natasha?" Bruce asked, sitting the boxes on the ground.

"That you can handle Stark for me." She said quietly.

He shot her a look and she shook her head. "Never mind." She whispered, pulling a seat up to the worktable, sitting down and propping her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do. Steve's confessing his feelings, Barton is ugh and Stark, well he's just being a bitch!"

Bruce chuckled, a grin on his face.

"I mean, the only ones not getting me frustrated are Pepper, Thor and you. Cause Thor's never around, and Pepper, I can't be mad at Pepper and you stay here in the lab." She laid her head down on the table. "I mean, they're acting like I can make them all happy and I don't know what they want? I mean, it's obvious what Steve and Barton want, but Stark, I mean, Stark's just an idiot. I can't do everything that all of them want."

"You got to remember. Fury still hasn't figured out. And think about what he'll do." Bruce said, making her groan.

"And now I got Fury to worry about. Thanks Banner." She said quietly.

"You've always had him to worry about. I've thrown him off the trail of you two." Bruce shook his head. "Can't let the most interesting thing going on in this tower be torn apart."

"Oh you would." She said with a laugh. "Thanks for not telling anyone Bruce." She smiled softly at him. "I still don't know how you figured it out."

"Well, let's see. You were complaining about how Barton and Rogers were gonna have to be pulled off of each other. And I'm not stupid. So I put it together. It's not that hard." Bruce shrugged, pulling out some folders, and laying them on the counter next to her. "Thor was wondering if something was going on between you and Steve."

"So now Thor's figuring it out." She let out a breath. "Perfect."

"What did Tony say exactly?" Bruce asked, slipping his glasses up more on his nose.

"He didn't say anything. He handed me an envelope and said give it to Steve. And I opened it." She shrugged her small shoulders. "And inside was $1000."

"So?"

"So, they made a bet. And Stark said that he was gonna give $1000 to whoever it was. And it was that." She frowned.

"That doesn't mean he knows." Bruce offered.

"Yeah, but when I walked into the office, he was in his big black plush chair and he turned around slowly." She said. "And only ONE light was on in the entire place."

"They really shouldn't let him watch movies sometimes." Bruce said quietly. "It's gonna be okay Natasha. "

She let out a shaky breath, shaking her head. "What if it's not? What if he tells Fury? And what if we get in trouble?"

"Are you really worried that Anthony Edward Stark is going to tell on you to Director Fury?" Bruce shook his head. "Dude, he loves you guys too much." He let out a laugh. "I'm serious. The other day he came in here bugging me all day trying to figure out if I knew anything about you and the guy you were with."

"No he didn't." She said quietly.

"Oh god, yes he did. It was hilarious." He said with a laugh. "He was just like 'Brucey, bubba, please help me with this. I mean, her and Barton make sense, but her and Steve, I mean, they're like, perfect."

"No." She shook her head.

"Oh yeah. Trust me. It was great. I just sat here shrugging and acting innocent." He said with a smile. "I thought he was going to explode by the time he left. He was groaning and huffing."

She covered her face, her cheeks turning bright red.

"I just, it absolutely blew my mind he would be that focused on figuring out who you're with." Bruce said with a laugh. "But it makes a lot of sense. He, he worries me."

"Thanks Bruce." She said quietly.

"No problem Natasha." He said with a smile.

She closed the door behind her, something feeling off about the air. Again, with the paranoia.

She walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge, searching for something, anything, to calm her. She grabbed the small container of cheesecake, picking a piece of chocolate out and pulling it out of the container, sticking it in her mouth to hold it as she grabbed the milk. She stared into the fridge for another moment before closing it.

The cheesecake fell out of her mouth and she groaned, placing the milk on the counter and grabbing the paper towels, getting down on her knees.

She grumbled under her breath, wiping the cheesecake up with the paper towels, taking a second after it was cleaned up to breathe and finally stand up.

She threw the paper towels into the trash before she turned to the counter, where the milk was now moved from the spot she had placed it. Two glasses were now filled with milk. She raised an eyebrow, shaking her head. _You already did that Natasha, you already did it._ She told herself, grabbing the milk again and putting it back into the fridge.

She turned around and a plate was on the counter, a piece of cheesecake sitting on it.

_Don't start freaking out Natasha. It's nothing._ She thought, heading over to the barstool and sitting down, looking at it. She looked down and reached for the fork, looking down at the plain cheesecake. "Strawberries." She said quietly, heading back to the fridge.

She opened it, grabbing the strawberries and pulling it out, closing the door.

"Hey."

She tensed at the voice, the strawberries falling out of her hands.

"Let me get that Tasha." She closed her eyes, clutching onto the fridge handle.

He placed the strawberries back into the container and sat them on the counter, a small smile on his face. "Can we talk?"

She opened her green eyes and looked at him. "What do we have to talk about?" She asked, her voice breaking. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Cause last time we "had a talk", you punched me."

"I know." He said quietly. "And I'm sorry."

"Do you honestly think I can believe you anymore Barton?" She asked.

"I completely agree with you." He said. "But please. Give me five minutes."

She looked down at her feet and nodded. "Fine, but that's it."

"Thank you. Thank you Nat." He said, propping himself against the counter.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"I want to know something. And you have to be truthful." He said. "Who is he?"

"Who is who?" She asked innocently.

"This marvelous man that has been able to turn you into some girl that I don't even recognize anymore." He said. "The man who has turned you from the one person I knew everything about to this stranger who is spaced out and daydreaming all the time."

"I haven't changed." She whispered.

"Oh god, yeah you have." He said. "You went from this amazing, hilarious girl that no-one would get around because they were scared, but she was not a bad person. And now, now I don't know who the hell you are." He shook his head. "For the first time in the last however many fucking years, I don't know the girl standing in front of me. Because for the first time, she is acting her own age."

"Whatever Barton." She muttered.

"I'm serious Natasha. No-one is afraid to approach you anymore. You're not who you used to be. The Natasha Romanoff I know wouldn't be acting like this. But that Natasha must not exist and she's been replaced by this one." He shrugged. "And this Natasha, I don't like."

She rolled her eyes, shifting slightly.

"Because she has lost her touch. She has lost herself."

"I haven't lost myself." She said, her voice on edge. "Maybe I found a new me."

"Maybe you did." He said. "But what made you find it? No, not what. Who?"

"Clint, please just leave it alone." She whispered, her eyes glued to the ground.

"I can't leave it alone. I want to know what someone is d-"

"I don't know what the fuck you are talking about." She snapped at him.

"I want to know how someone has managed to change you so easily. How someone has managed to make you the happiest I have ever seen you."

"Clint, it doesn't matter."

"You better fucking believe it matters." He growled. "I want to know if it is time to move on."

That was a punch in the gut. That was what this was all about. "I, I…" She bit down on her lip as she searched her mind for what to tell him. If she said yes, she'd admit to being in love with Steve, but she, she didn't love. She couldn't love. But if she said no…. She shook her head. "I don't know what you want me to tell you?"

"I want you to tell me the truth." He said. "That is all I've ever wanted."

She stood there, her mouth gaping open as she tried to think of what to say when the front door opened. "Tasha?" Steve's voice called as he carried a box in.

She shut her green eyes, running a hand through her red curls.

"Oh." Clint said quietly. "I see."

"What are you doing here Barton?" Steve asked, causing Natasha to open her eyes again, looking at the two men. He sat a box down on the ground.

"Just having a friendly conversation with my partner." Clint said with a smug look on his face. "If that's okay. Don't want to inconvenience the resident couple."

Steve looked over at Natasha, who gave him a single nod. He nodded back at her but his jaw was still clinched.

"So," Clint let out a chuckle, "this is him. Well, kinda doesn't surprise me." He said. "I mean, I know Banner's smart, but I didn't think he'd be this right about something like this." He shrugged.

Natasha let out a breath, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"So then. I will leave you two love birds alone and um, have a nice life." Clint said, walking past Natasha.

"Clint, please don't." Natasha said.

He turned to look at her. "Please don't what?" He asked. "Please don't be pissed about this? Please don't, don't be mad because I strung you along for the past however fucking many years?" He raised his voice. "You really think I shouldn't be fucking pissed about this?"

"You don't talk to her like that." Steve said, causing Clint to turn to him.

"I'm gonna talk to her however the hell I want Rogers." Clint said. He turned back to Natasha. "Did you really think you could hide this or something?"

"I-"

"I mean, really Natasha. Everyone knows." He said. "Everyone knows how big of a hypocrite you are now. How fucking weak you are."

Her breath caught in her chest and her throat started tightening as he spoke.

"Get the hell out of here." Steve said, pointing out the door. "And stay out."

"What are you gonna do?"

"You do not want to know."

"Bring it Captain."

"Stop it!" Natasha shouted. "Just stop it!"

Both of the men turned to look at her. "Ta-"

"No!" She said, shaking her head. "I am tired of you two arguing over me like I'm some toy." She let out a breath, her nose scrunching up.

"Yo-"

"Shut up!" She growled. "It's my turn to talk."

Both of the men closed their mouths.

"I, I am not some prize nor some trophy. I am not something you two can own." She said. "I am not a fucking damsel in distress. I have never been. And I never want to be." Her voice cracked. "So you two better get your shit together. Or I will walk out that damn door and I will never come back."

"Ta-"

"I want you two to be friends again." She said, shrugging one shoulder, her shirt slipping off of it. "You two are the most important people in my life and I don't want you guys fighting." She shook her head. "We're a team. We're not a ticking time bomb, we're not enemies. We're a fucking team." She rubbed hair off of her face. "And I don't want to lose the one family I've ever really known."

"Natasha." Steve finally got out.

"I don't want to hear it." She said, pushing past the two. "Next time I walk out, it'll be for real." She shrugged, pulling at the shirt before slamming the door behind her.

A/N: Okay guys, so I finished writing it at 3:36 am on May 13, 2013. I have to be up in less than three hours before I take a two hour test that counts as half of my grade, but this is more important. Way more important. So, this was hard to write, because I am surprisingly torn. I mean, her and Clint were like, the first pairing I absolutely fell in love with, but her and Steve are just, them. But don't worry, not everything is lost. Because a certain Anthony Edward Stark is coming in to "save the day." The next chapter is gonna be very, very, very important in the direction the story ends up going. So anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and have liked the story so far. And yeah, so bye! ~Rennergirl11

**Sneak Peek of Next Chapter:**

"What, no! I want to be up there watching the two of them beat the shit out of each other!" Tony whined. "Why can't I be up there?"

"Because you will let them beat the shit out of each other." Pepper said.

"Fine, leave me Thor, we can take care of Red." Tony said with a mischievous grin.

"No. Bruce, you're staying with Tony." Pepper said.

"Whyyy?" Tony whined.

"Because knowing you Stark, you will whip out the alcohol, get her drunk, and um, I don't know, get in a duel with her." Bruce said.

"I was gonna say get her on some roller-skates and get her to ride on the balcony, but the duel seems like a lot more fun."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: So, I do not own anything recognizable, including One Tree Hill. So yes, just don't own anything in this story that people know, just my ideas.

A/N: Hope you enjoy. R&R!

* * *

"Pepper! Pepper! Pepper!" Tony yelled. "PEPPERRRR!"

"Oh my dear god, hold on!" Pepper called, walking out of the closet. "What?"

"Come here." Tony grabbed her wrist and yanked her to the stairs.

"What the hell is going on Tony?" Pepper asked, her eyes wide as he yanked her down the stairs to the lounge area.

"Shhh." He whispered, pulling her to the corner of the room. "Bruce."

Bruce poked his head around the other side of the marble slab in the middle of the room.

"Is she still on the couch?" Tony whispered.

Bruce nodded, his eyes wide. "She hasn't moved."

"Yes! Tony Stark to the rescue." Tony said with a smirk.

"What's going on?" Pepper asked, looking between the two men.

"Listen…" Bruce said quietly, pointing over to the couch.

'I can't accept that our story doesn't have a good ending.' 'Our story already has the greatest ending. No matter what. Cause we're together.'

Pepper covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes growing wide. "Oh my lord. She's watching One Tree Hill." She said quietly. "What happened?"

"Clint was in her apartment, and they got in an argument over if he needs to move on and who has changed her and then Steve walked in and they got in an argument." Bruce said.

"Wait, what?" Pepper asked quietly. "How do you know?"

"Are you kidding me?" Tony asked. "This is our entertainment." He smirked. "We have to save their relationship."

"Nothing is wrong with their relationship." Pepper said.

"You were the one that freaked out when you figured out she was watching One Tree Hill." Bruce said.

"Where are the boys?" She asked, shooting Bruce a look.

"In her apartment." Bruce said. "Last time we checked, yelling."

"Okay then, we need to calm them down." Pepper said. "Tony, you're down here with her."

"What, no! I want to be up there watching the two of them beat the shit out of each other!" Tony whined. "Why can't I be up there?"

"Because you will let them beat the shit out of each other." Pepper said.

"Fine, leave me here. Alone. I can take care of Red. I'm good at doing that." Tony said with a mischievous grin.

"No. Bruce is staying with you Tony." Pepper said.

"Whyyy?" Tony whined.

"Because knowing you Stark, you will whip out the alcohol, get her drunk, and um, I don't know, get in a duel with her." Bruce said.

"I was gonna say get her on some roller-skates and get her to ride on the balcony, but the duel seems like a lot more fun." Tony said with a grin.

"My point exactly." Pepper said. "Bruce, you are in charge." She looked at Tony. "Please behave."

"Yes ma'am." Tony said innocently.

"Bruce, keep him under your watch." Pepper warned, turning to go back upstairs.

"Brucey, bubba." Tony said, turning to look at him. "Go make her feel better. You're a doctor."

"For the billionth time Stark. I am not that kind of doctor." He said quietly, rubbing at his eyes.

"Well, you should be. You'd be good at it." Tony smirked. "Have fun."

"Nose goes." Bruce shouted, pressing his finger to his nose.

"Shit." Tony said quietly.

"Have fun buddy." Bruce said, patting him on the back.

* * *

Pepper got off of the elevator onto Natasha's floor and she could already hear them.

"I'm not trying to steal her away Rogers!"

"Oh yeah? You're not? Then why the hell were you in here?"

"Why are you being so damn over-protective?"

"Because if I'm not overprotective, I'm gonna lose her."

Silence. And that silence scared Pepper.

She pushed open the door to the apartment and stood there, looking at the two men.

"I'm trying to do right by her Clint." Steve said, sitting down on the small steps next to Clint. "I'm sorry. But I can't leave her alone."

"That's not what I'm saying. I just want to know how serious this is." Clint said. "How serious are you two?"

"Why didn't you ask Natasha?" Steve asked.

"Because every single time I try to talk to her, she gets way too defensive and she walks away. And I don't want that. I want the old Natasha back." Clint said. "I want the Natasha that would come to me for everything. And this one…" He shook his head. "She won't even talk to me."

"I didn't mean to change anything Barton." Steve said. "I just, I don't want her to be different towards anyone. I just, I want her to be happy."

"That's what I want too." Clint said. "She's been the same ever since I met her. I mean, I've earned her trust more. But she's always been the same. She was always different towards me than towards everyone else. And then you guys show up and I lose that with her. I lose the connection between us and she changed." He shook his head.

"Change is good." Steve said quietly. "Change is really good."

Clint nodded and rubbed at his face.

"Most important thing is that she's happy, right?" Steve asked. "I mean, that's what we want in the end is for her to be happy."

"You're right." Clint whispered, playing with the edge of his sleeve. "And if you're the one that makes her happy, then so be it."

"Really?" Steve asked quietly, his blue eyes wide.

"Yeah. I mean, if she's happy. And taken care of. And just loved, then it's okay. It doesn't matter who does it, as long as it happens." He said with a shrug.

"You have no idea what it means to have your approval Clint." Steve said.

Clint let out a small chuckle. "Well then." He smiled. "If you can make Natasha Romanoff, aka The Russian Bitch according to the cadets, act like a teenager madly in love, then you definitely have my approval for it. You've changed her. But that's okay."

Steve smiled. "It really is an honor that you're okay with this."

"Captain, it's my genuine pleasure." Clint said with a chuckle, one corner of his mouth lifted.

Pepper cleared her throat and both of the men looked up at her.

"Ma'am?" Steve asked quietly.

"You guys might want to come down here and speak to Natasha." Pepper said.

"How bad is it?" Clint asked.

"One Tree Hill bad." Pepper shrugged.

"Shit, it's worse than I thought." Clint said, shaking his head.

* * *

"You stupid fucking shit-ass!" That's exactly what they heard when they stepped off the elevator.

"What is going on?" Pepper asked, eyebrow raised.

Bruce's head popped up from the couch. "Um, Tony thought it'd be a good idea to turn off that show." He said quietly. "It's pretty funny."

"Why haven't you tried to pull her off of him?" She asked.

"Same reason you haven't tried yet. It's hilarious." Bruce shrugged innocently. "It gets her anger out. This way she doesn't shoot us."

"She'll still try to shoot you." Clint said, shaking his head. "Cap, you get her, I got Stark."

Steve nodded and went around the other side of the couch as Clint went around that side.

Clint nodded at Steve and gave him a thumbs-up.

Steve grabbed Natasha by the waist and lifted her up, throwing her over his shoulder like he did to the punching bags.

Clint pulled Tony off the ground by the collar of his shirt and smacked him in the back of his head. "Stupid. You should have just left it alone."

"Well, those people on the show were all over each other. And it was not appropriate for her to watch." Tony said, throwing up his hands when Natasha whipped her head around and shot him a glare.

"Okay, listen to me." Pepper said. "We are to going to sit down, like a family, and talk."

Natasha and Tony both started whining.

"Both of you, shut-up." Pepper snapped. "Opposite ends of the living room. Both of you."

Steve sat Natasha down on the seat beside him and Clint placed Tony next to him on the couch.

Pepper stood up in the middle of the living room and pointed at Clint and Steve. "Okay, these two, don't hate each other." She then pointed to Tony and Natasha. "These two, still obviously do."

"We've known that." Bruce said innocently.

"Shush." Pepper ordered. "Now, everyone knows that Steve and Natasha are together, correct?"

They all nodded.

"Good. Okay. And we are all okay with that, correct?"

They all nodded.

"And we all agree that no-one can find out about them. Because Director Fury might kill us all if he finds out." Pepper said, crossing her arms.

Tony raised his hand slowly and Natasha mumbled 'Dumbass'

"Yes, Tony?" Pepper asked with a huff.

"Now, this is just to figure out who would win the bet between me and Brucey." Tony said. "How long have they been together?"

Pepper looked over at Steve and Natasha and raised an eyebrow.

Natasha had her face hidden in Steve's neck and Steve had his arm around her.

"Guys?" Pepper asked quietly.

"Oh, um. If we follow my side, it's seven months and one day." Steve said quietly.

"But that's not right." Natasha muttered, her head lifting up. "It's seven months, two weeks and one day."

"Don't listen to her." Steve said quietly, rubbing her back lightly.

"That was not the bet." Bruce said. "It was the first kiss that we were betting on."

"Oh, then she's right." Steve said.

"Told you Stark." Bruce said innocently. "Had it down to the day too." He chuckled. "So, that is the fifth bet I've won Stark. Where's the money?"

"Five bets?" Pepper asked.

"It started the first day we all met. He asked who she would be all over. I said Steve. He said himself. I won." Bruce said, a small smirk on his lips.

"TONY!" Pepper said in a hurt voice. "Seriously?"

"Okay, this is not an intervention for me. It's for them. So, don't start turning the tables." Tony said.

Pepper turned to Steve. "Let the Russian loose." She said, a smile on his face.

"What?" Steve asked.

"Let her go. She can beat the shit out of him for all I care." Pepper said.

Natasha's green eyes grew wide and her lips turned into a large grin.

Clint pushed Tony off of the couch and Natasha climbed off of the seat she was sharing with Steve and picked Tony up by the collar, slamming him against the window. "I should push you out this window." She said with a grin, her eyes still wide.

"Okay, not that bad." Pepper said.

"Please don't kill me." He said quietly, his brown eyes wide.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Natasha asked, a single eyebrow perfectly arched.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. For every single shitty thing I have ever done to you or said to you." He said. "I'm sorry for pulling that prank which ended with you having to cut your hair off again. And for being an ass. And I'm sorry for doing all this shit." He threw his hands up.

"Anything else?" She asked, sliding his body up the glass, his feet hanging above the ground.

"Yes. One last thing." He said. "You are the best Russian person ever and you are much, much better than me and I'm sorry for anything I have ever done. And you are not a manipulative bitch. I promise."

"Better." She whispered. "Something else you want to say?"

"Yes, I'm the bitch. I am the bitch and you are not." Tony said.

Natasha dropped him to the ground, a smirk on her face.

"Is that it?" Tony asked quietly.

"You want me to beat the shit out of you?" Natasha asked.

He shook his head, eyes wide in fear.

"That's what I thought." She growled, sitting back down beside Steve. She leaned over to Steve's ear. "Is he really okay with us?" She whispered.

Steve nodded and kissed her head. "Yeah, he is. He said he just wants you to be happy."

She nodded and looked over at Clint, a smile on her lips. "Good. Cause the two most important men in my life can't be acting like that." She whispered to Steve.

* * *

A/N: So, the boys are all okay. Yay! So, I have changed the way this story is heading about 5 times, but I think I finally got it. I hope you guys still like the story. Follow, Favorite and Review. It really makes my day when I get that notification that says so-and-so followed or favorited or reviewed. I love you guys so much! XOXO, Rennergirl11

PS: Okay, so I am not hating on One Tree Hill. I actually love that show with a burning passion. And it is like the greatest show to watch when you're upset and everything. So, totally not hating on it, just showing my love for it.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Don't own anything

A/N: So sorry I haven't posted in so long. I feel really bad but this entire summer has been hectic and full of no Wi-Fi. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

"Okay, one last question." He said as he came into the room.

"No." She said softly, glancing at him from behind her glasses.

"Why not?" He asked softly, crouching down in front of her, placing his chin against her pale knees, causing her to look down at him.

"Because…." She sighed softly. "You've asked me like a million in the last hour and it's getting really annoying." She pushed back a red curl quietly, shifting in the seat.

He groaned quietly, sitting back on the ground. "Mmmmm…. Please?"

She shook her head, looking back down at the book she had been reading, scratching at her face. "Shouldn't you be, oh I don't know, at the gym? Or something?"

"Already went."

"Go again."

"I will if you'll answer my question." He said with an innocent shrug.

"Technically, your question was 'Why not?' and I'm pretty sure I answered that." She said softly before biting her lip.

"That's not my question!" He protested, quieting down as she shot him a glare.

She scratched at her curls quietly, shaking her head softly. "Do you really need to know that badly?" She asked with a huff.

He nodded quietly, looking up at her with a smile. "Yes baby." He said softly, pulling out the nickname that he only used when he was trying to guilt trip her.

She groaned softly before nodding. "Alright…. Hit me with it." She muttered, scratching at her curls.

"Alright…. That song from our first date. That you were singing. What was it called?" He asked, looking up at her.

"Mmm…. Thrift Shop." She smirked softly before looking back down at her book quietly.

He shook his head. "No… not that one. That was the first one. It was the one after that."

She looked at him, sighing softly. "Kiss Quick."

He looked at her confused, his eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

She sighed quietly, biting her lip. "It's called 'Kiss Quick'" She said quietly. "It's by um, Matt…"

"Just Matt?"

"No…" She shook her head. "Matt Nathanson I think."

He nodded quietly, standing up slowly before bending over, tilting her chin up and pressing a kiss to her lips softly. "Alright."

She smiled up at him quietly, looking into his baby blue eyes. "If you have any more questions, don't come to me about them."

He sent her a look, an eyebrow raised. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Ask Clint." She said softly, looking back down to her book, chewing on her lip softly. When he didn't respond or move from in front of her, she glanced up at him. "Yes Mr. Rogers?"

"Why do I ask him?" He asked, looking down at her.

She placed her elbow on the chair arm, propping her head up in her hand. "Because he knows everything." She muttered softly. "We've been partners for a while, he knows a lot." She said softly. "And if he absolutely can't answer the question, then that's when you can come to ask me a question. Deal?"

He nodded quietly, pressing a kiss to her forehead before smiling. "Alright baby…" He said softly. "I guess I'll see you if he can't answer anything…. Maybe."

She shook her head. "No, you won't because he can answer anything and everything and nothing." She said softly. "And if he gets tired of you, he will hurt you." She said softly. "Or just kick you out. Or both."

He sighed softly before nodding, looking down at her gently. "I'll see you later, okay?"

She nodded, looking down at her book quietly, flicking the page, starting to read.

"Alright, bye baby." He said as he started out the room, not getting an answer. He shook his head softly before heading out the door, down the hallway.

* * *

Natasha glanced over at the clock quietly, chewing on the skin on the end of her thumb. She sighed softly as she closed her book, placing it on top of the stack that had been growing lately.

She shook her head softly as she stretched before she shot her head to the door, her green eyes narrowing softly as she watched Steve slink in through the door, covered in something that definitely wasn't sweat. "Well, it's nice to see you Mr. Rogers…" She said, causing him to jump slightly.

"Oh, um…. Hey baby." He said softly, looking down at her. "I, I just came to get something." He said as he slipped off his shirt, heading down the hall.

She sighed quietly, shaking her head as she shifted under the blanket, pulling it up around herself.

When he finally came back into the room, she perked back up slightly, smiling. The smile faded as he started back to the door to leave. "Did… did I do something that pissed you off?" She asked quietly, her lips pursed softly.

He turned to look at her and shook his head. "No, no sweetheart." He said softly. "You didn't do anything."

"Then why haven't you spent one night in bed the past week?" She asked quietly, shifting again.

He looked at her before at the door. "I can't tell you." He said, looking back at her. "Not now. It's not good yet."

She sighed softly, shaking her head. "Whatever." She grumbled under her breath. "You go have fun doing whatever the hell it is you're doing, alright?"

He groaned softly before heading over to her, sitting on the arm of the couch she was sprawled out on. He reached out to take her chin gently, rubbing his thumb along her cheek, his hand dirty and speckled from something.

"Why can't you just stay?" She asked softly, looking into his blue eyes with her green ones.

"Because, just trust me." He said quietly. "It's almost done. And then you'll have me all to yourself. I promise."

She nodded quietly, biting her lip softly.

"You go off to bed, alright?" He smiled, kissing her forehead softly. "You sleep all night and then when you wake up, you'll get to see what's been keeping me away all these nights, alright?"

"Carry me." She muttered quietly, looking at him. "Carry me to bed."

He shook his head with a small grin, lifting her in his arms and carrying her down the hall to the bed. He pulled up the covers, sliding her in under them before pressing a kiss to her head. He tucked her in gently before pressing a kiss to her lips, taking her reading glasses from her face and sitting them on the bedside table. "I want you to sleep. No more reading." He said softly, pushing back some red curls. "I saw the stack of books in there… You may be out of control."

She rolled her eyes softly, huddling under the covers more, yawn. "Oh shut it." She muttered softly, looking up at him. "Mmmm…. There better be pitch black coffee and hot tea ready for me in the morning." She grumbled softly, rubbing at her face.

"I know, I know… Coffee and tea. Set out. Don't worry, I got it." He smiled. "I'll see you in the morning babe."

"Mmm… night." She muttered softly as he flickered off the lights, heading out the door.

* * *

She cursed under her breath as the light in the room broke her from her sleep, blinking her green eyes tiredly as she looked around. "Go away!" She grumped as she spotted Steve standing against the door frame.

"You told me you wanted coffee and tea. And I have it for you." He said, smiling at her as she sat up in the bed, scratching at her insanely messy and frizzy red curls, a confused looks set on her pale face. "I can bring it to you, if you want?" He offered quietly.

She looked up at him, her nose wrinkled up as she reached for her reading glass. "Wait, what?"

"Do you want your coffee and your tea?" He asked softly, looking down at Natasha with a grin.

She rubbed at her curls before nodding, her eyes squinted slightly. "Yeah, yeah…." She muttered, attempting to unwrap herself from the blankets.

"I'll bring it to you babe." He said softly, causing her to stop and look at him. He didn't even wait to see what she said, he just turned back to the kitchen.

He came back into the room quietly, a tray of stuff in his hand before he placed it over her lap. He sat down next to her quietly, pushing back a red curl. "Here." He said softly as he handed her a spoon. "I got you some cereal too."

She shifted slightly in the bed, smiling sleepily up at him. "Mmm… thanks…" She muttered, taking a sip of her tea. "So, do I get to see whatever you've been hiding away from me for?"

He nodded, looking down at her quietly. "Yeah, you eat and then I'll take you, alright?"

She looked at him before nodding, scooping up some cereal quietly, chewing on some slightly. "Will you give me a hint?"

He shook his head, smiling. "No, no hints. Sorry…"

She groaned quietly, sending him a look before taking a bigger bite, shoving the tray in his hands. "Okay. I'm done."

He laughed lightly, shaking his head. "Mmm… No. You gotta eat more than that." He said softly. "And drink your coffee. Okay?"

She sighed softly, taking the tray back and eating some more cereal, eating it quickly. She made grabby hands at the coffee, causing him to chuckle, handing it to her. She swallowed it as quickly as she could before smiling up at him. "Okay, I'm ready."

He shook his head, handing her the tea and took the tray from her lap. "Finish the tea and then get dressed and I'll take you."

She sighed softly, taking a slow sip from her tea. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Mmm… possibly the fact that you're just wearing your underwear. That might be why." He said softly, taking the cup from her as she finished.

She glared over her shoulder as she stumbled out of the bed, heading to her closet and pulling on a tank top and shorts as he disappeared out of the room. She turned back and pulled her hair up into a ponytail, watching him quietly.

"Alright, you ready?" He asked, wiping at his hands, looking at her softly.

"No, I'm not." She said, crossing her arms softly, an eyebrow raised. "What do you think?"

"I was just asking." He said softly. "Come on. Let's go."

* * *

He pushed open the door gently, his hand still over her eyes as he flipped on the lights quietly. "You sure you want to see this Natasha?" He asked softly, looking down and pressing a kiss to the top of her curls.

"Yes…." She groaned softly, stomping her feet gently. "Now."

"What's the magic word?"

"I will bite you if you don't." She muttered, causing him to laugh. "I'm serious Steve. Let me see it."

He smiled softly. "Alright…" He said quietly, taking his hand away gently and stepping back quietly.

She opened her eyes and her breath caught in her chest. "Is….. Is this what I think it is?" She asked, stepping forward in the room, pressing her palm to one of the mirrors.

He nodded, watching her quietly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, I hope…" He smiled at her.

"You… You made me a ballet room?" She looked at him in the mirror before looking over her shoulder at him. "How…. Why?"

He looked at her quietly, smiling. "How did I do this?" He repeated her question. "I fixed up one of the rooms."

"No, how, how did you know about it? My ballet and, and that?" She asked gently, looking at him with wide green eyes.

"Um, when you sent me away because I was annoying you, I went to Barton like you told me to." He said with a smile. "And I was asking him these simple questions and he said that the one thing he remembered you loved the most was ballet. He told me about how amazing it was to watch you practice and how during performances you would just draw all the attention to yourself because you were so good." He looked at her. "And he told me all these stories about your ballet and how you stopped because you didn't have anywhere. So, here it is."

"Why?" She asked quietly, looking down at the ground quietly.

"Well, we all kind of have our own place in the tower. Stark has the bar, Banner has the lab, Thor has…. Well, he has the kitchen." He shook his head with a small chuckle. "I have the gym and Barton has the roof and the shooting range. And you kind of just float around from place to place all the time. And you needed somewhere."

She smiled shakily, looking around. "I love it Steve…" She whispered before looking up at him.

"I'm glad you do." He smiled, looking at her. "I mean it's full out. You got the bar thingy, you got the mirror wall, the hard wood floor and then mats if you need them." He shrugged. "And yeah. Oh, and now you get to see the real reason I was missing for the last week."

She looked up at him with wide green eyes, her head tilted to the side. "Wait, this isn't the, the reason?"

He shook his head, offering her his hand which she took quietly, looking up at him.

"What is it?" She asked quietly, biting her lip gently.

"Close your eyes." He ordered, making her roll her eyes before closing them. "Alright." He said, guiding her across the floor before stopping. "Okay, keep them closed." He told her as he let go of her hand, heading to the wall and pull off a sheet from it. "Open them up."

She blinked open her eyes as her lips parted in surprise. "It's so beautiful." She said softly, looking up at the wall.

The wall was painted white, like the rest of the walls, but this one was different. It had a black silhouette of a couple dancing. Along the silhouette were little gray letters. She stepped back slightly, reading what it said. '_Kiss quick, I've got a line out the door who all think they can save me. One by one, they lay the world at my feet. One by one, they drive me crazy. Shut your mouth; pull me out, before this all goes grey. One by one, they lay the world at my feet. One by one, they go away._'

"You, you remembered…" She said as she looked at it. "That, that song. That line…"

He nodded softly, watching her as she covered her mouth with her hand, closing her eyes softly. "I, I don't like the way you're acting Natasha." When she didn't answer, he stepped over towards her, pushing back a red curl. "Are you okay?"

She nodded softly, wiping at her eyes gently. "Yeah…" She whispered, looking down. "I just, I can't believe this is really happening…" She muttered, looking down at the ground.

He smiled, wrapping his arms around her in a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Do you like it that much?"

She let out a breath, her head in his chest. "God yes." She whispered, closing her eyes.

"Good, I'm glad." He smiled, rubbing her back softly.

"I hope you know this means you're gonna have to drag me out of here." She muttered, looking up at him with innocent green eyes, causing him to chuckle.

"That's perfectly fine." He said softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I just want you to be happy."

"I am… I really am happy." She smiled up at him slightly.

He nodded, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips. "Good, that's what my little princess deserves."


End file.
